A Chance Meeting
by JEM515
Summary: Jack and littleDaniel are on vacation in New York, when they meet a very unusual family.


**A Chance Meeting**

by Jo

Jack O'Neill surveyed the crowd and automatically tightened his grip on the small hand of Dr. Daniel Jackson, multiple Ph.D. holder, speaker of 23 Earth languages, opener of the Gate and current inhabitant of a body of a five year old. Jack knew that Daniel disliked having to hold Jack's hand, but between the crowd and other less obvious dangers, Jack wasn't going to risk losing his archeologist. Again.

* * *

In the past eight years, since Colonel Jack O'Neill had met Dr. Daniel Jackson, he had lost or almost lost the kid far too many times. Ra, Nem, Apophis, the sarcophagus, Machello, and assorted enemies of humanity had managed to separate Daniel from his side and inflict more than enough damage on his young friend.

Then, six months ago, they had lost Daniel again. In fact, General Hammond had tactfully suggested having a memorial service. Everyone knew that Daniel had been captured by the Replicater Carter. Everyone knew that following the events on Dakara, every single replicater and replicater ship had been destroyed. Ergo Daniel was dead.

Sam Carter was a wreck from the guilt over the Repli-Carter fiasco and the grief of losing her father. She had asked for a leave of absence from the SGC to work through her feelings.

Teal'c seemed equally disturbed by the loss of their friend. He had retreated behind Jaffa tradition and honor. He had asked to spend time with the Jaffa leaders at Dakara, to start nation building.

And Jack had let them go. Without Daniel, there was no SG-1. That was a lesson that they had all learned two years earlier, after Kelowna.

At Daniel's first memorial service, Jack had said that Daniel was the heart and conscience of the SGC. Now, seven years later, it was more true than ever.

* * *

Daniel pulled on Jack's hand.

"Come on Jack! I want to see this exhibit before the lecture. We only have two hours! The Emerson Collection contains some the most fascinating examples of hieratic texts and there are also some fresco fragments that looked amazing in the catalogue!"exclaimed the very excited five year old.

Jack really regretted letting Daniel have that grande latte with his breakfast. Allowing Daniel drag him forward, Jack just knew it was going to be a very, very long day.

* * *

A few weeks after letting Carter and Teal'c leave, Jack sat in his office, writing his letter of resignation. It wasn't the first time he had written the letter. In fact, Jack had attempted to resign at least five times before and succeeded once. This time it was for real. He hated his job. He hated doing paperwork and overseeing the day to day operations of the SGC. In the past year, he had only gone through the gate three times. Now he was more an administrator than a commanding officer. Without Daniel, Carter and Teal'c, without his team, the spark was gone from the job. He dreaded going to work each day. He counted the hours until he could go home.

Jack had served under a few officers who did nothing but count the days until their retirement. He knew how dangerous those men could be. The commanding officer of the SGC needed to care about his job. When an officer ceased to care about his command, the whole operation was at risk. Jack wasn't going to let his apathy endanger the SGC. So he wrote his last resignation letter.

Just as he lifted his pen to sign the letter, he saw a bright flash out of the corner of his eye. It had seemed to come from his coat closet. A moment later, he heard a voice.

"Hello?"

The voice was young. A child's voice. Coming from his closet. But something about that voice...

"Daniel?"

"Jack?"

Jack ran to the closet door and flung open the door. There, sitting on a cardboard box, under Jack's uniform jacket, sat a small child. With light brown hair and big blue eyes.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Jack had scooped the child into his arms and hugged him. Then, realizing that Daniel was not only much younger than when he had last seen him, but also naked, he grabbed his jacket from the closet and wrapped it around his friend.

The next few days flew by in a blur. Daniel was taken to the infirmary and it was confirmed that he was a genetic match for the adult sized Daniel Jackson. He had all of his memories up to and including his death at the hand of the Replicater Carter. From that point, the story got a bit hazy.

Daniel had a vague memory of visiting a coffee shop that he knew from his childhood. He believed that Oma DeSala had been there, along with several other ascended beings, and ... Anubis.

Oma told Daniel that he had a choice, whether to die or to ascend. Anubis told Daniel he was planning to destroy all life in the universe. Daniel had tried to fight Anubis, but had been hurt. Oma had finally done something useful, and started a fight with Anubis. Apparently, the two of them were locked into some kind of eternal battle.

Daniel had been left wounded and alone in the coffee shop. He seemed to think there was a debate between the other ascended beings about what to do with him. Then, there had been a bright light and he found himself in Jack's closet. Naked, alone and much smaller.

He didn't know why the Others had sent him back as a child, or with his memory. It didn't seem to fit with Oma's earlier actions.

Jack didn't really care. Daniel was back. Shorter. But alive. With his memory and his intellect and his unique Daniel-ness.

Carter and Teal'c returned to the SGC as soon as they got Jack's message: Daniel has come home.

* * *

Jack studied the case of tattered papyrus. Each segment was scribbled with the odd-hieroglyphic like markings that Daniel had taught him were hieratic. Not that Jack could read hieratic. It was just brown squiggles on a lighter brown background to him.

However, Daniel seemed delighted by the display. He practically had his nose pressed up against the glass and twice Jack had to pull him back a bit, to appease the museum guard. Daniel was muttering under his breath and his forehead was wrinkled in concentration.

"Jack?" piped Daniel.

"Yeah?"

"Could you please let go of my hand, so that I can write down some of this into my notebook? Some of these fragments are... astounding! I've never seen anything like them!"

Jack glanced around the room. The crowd had thinned a bit in this section. Apparently the brown on brown scrolls weren't a big draw for most tourists. Go figure! He looked down at Daniel, staring into his huge blue eyes.

"I'll let go of the hand, if you promise to stay right here. Don't even think of wandering into another room. When you are ready to move on, you tell me and I go back to holding your hand. Understand?"asked Jack.

Daniel sighed, "I understand. I think you are being completely over protective, but I understand. Just let me copy this down and then we can go get our seats for the lecture. I want to sit near the front."

Jack released the hand and stepped back a few feet. He knew that Daniel felt a bit smothered by his attention, but even as an adult, Daniel had been a trouble magnet. The new pint-sized version seemed far too vulnerable. Jack was painfully aware how even the smallest mistake or briefest moment of inattention could lead to disaster for a child.

* * *

Things weren't easy. Daniel didn't like his new size. The Pentagon and the White House didn't like that a child was now an integral part of the SGC. It had taken several meetings with the President and the Joint Chiefs to get permission for Daniel's continued involvement in the SGC. The deciding factor was when Thor paid a visit to the Oval Office. With Daniel and Jack. Thor had kindly explained that in the interest of a continued alliance between the Asgaard and the Tau'ri, Daniel Jackson needed to remain with the SGC. Thor seemed to imply that Daniel was a non-negotiable for the Asgaard.

Then some changes were made at the SGC. Carter had expressed an interest in focusing more of her attention on research. She loved being a part of SG-1, but being the leader of the flagship unit left very little time for overseeing the Science department. Teal'c expressed a need to have more contact with the Free Jaffa. He wanted to continue serving on SG-1, but would need some flexibility to help with the new Jaffa government.

And Daniel. Well, while Daniel could remain at the SGC as an active participant, no one felt he could safely go off-world on regular missions. Jack was willing to concede that if Daniel was absolutely needed off-world and if the planet appeared to be completely safe, Daniel might be able to assist in those kind of missions. Maybe. With a few extra SG teams guarding his six. And maybe an Asgaard ship flying overhead. Maybe.

So, Daniel agreed to remain the department head for archeology, anthropology and linguistics. He had worked with Siler to modify his office to better fit his new height. Several meetings were held with all of the department heads to ensure that they understood that although Dr. Jackson was only three feet tall, he was still to be respected. A less formal meeting was held within the ranks of the Marines and Airmen. Anyone who messed with Daniel Jackson would be dealt with severely. Teal'c and Ferretti had been in charge of that little meeting and the message was received loud and clear.

* * *

Jack studied the other occupants of the exhibit room while keeping Daniel in his line of sight. There were a few bookish types in tweed jackets, a couple students in t-shirts and jeans, the museum guard and a dark haired boy, about ten years old. The boy was studying the display next to Daniel, with a frown on his face.

Glancing around, it appeared that the kid was not connected to any of the adults in the room. He was dressed in ripped jeans and a grubby T-shirt. He was very tan, with coal black hair and a hawk-like nose that seemed vaguely ridiculous on such a young person. But he projected an air of self-confidence that Jack had never seen in a child, at least not from a regular child from Earth.

Jack decided to casually inquire if the kid was lost or needed help finding his parents.

"Hey, aren't you a little young to be stuck inside a museum all day?"asked Jack.

The kid glanced at him and gave the briefest of shrugs.

"I'm not stuck. If I wanted to be outside, I would be outside," answered the kid.

"Huh. That's good. Are you here with your parents?" continued Jack.

Another non-committal shrug.

"My parents are aware of my location. We agreed that I would stay within this section of the museum, barring any unforseen emergencies that would require my evacuation. If any such situations arise, I will meet my parents at our lodgings,"explained the kid.

Jack blinked at the little speech. What kind of kid was this? He talked like Daniel. Only with British accent.

Letting out a whistle, Jack replied, "That's good. Always good to have a plan. So, my name is Jack O'Neill and this is Daniel. We're here to see the exhibit and listen to a lecture by some guy named Emerson. How 'bout you?"

* * *

Eventually, life at the SGC returned to a weird kind of normal. Jack had brought in Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell to lead SG-1. Mitchell had a few years of seniority on Carter and was more interested in commanding a unit. SG-1 remained a three-person team, with Mitchell, Carter and Teal'c. Depending on the mission, a specialist from one of the science departments would join the team.

Daniel had moved in with Jack, following a few heated arguments about where he should live. While Daniel understood that it would look highly inappropriate for a five year old to be living alone, he was reluctant to give-up that level of independence. He had argued that he could live on base. That way he wouldn't have to deal with the rest of the world believing that he was a child.

Jack had argued that Daniel would go nuts living on base. And that it wasn't healthy for anyone to live 25 floors beneath a mountain long term. And yes, while that was exactly what Teal'c had been doing for years, Teal'c at least got off base for recreation and for missions.

A cover story was developed. Daniel was now Daniel Jackson Jr. His father was the infamous Daniel Jackson who had dropped into obscurity following a lecture on the origins of the Egyptian pyramids. Daniel Jackson Sr. had gotten a job teaching English as a second language at a small community college in Minnesota. He and his long term girlfriend had a child in 1998. While traveling to Colorado to visit a distant cousin, the Jackson family had been involved in a single car accident. Daniel Jackson Jr. was left orphaned. His mother's only living relative, Jack O'Neill, agreed to take the boy. As per the wishes of his parents, Daniel would be home-schooled. Since General Jack O'Neill worked at NORAD, Daniel Jackson Jr. would attend daycare at Cheyenne Mountain with other military brats.

After a few weeks of moaning and groaning, Daniel had accepted his new living arrangement. Jack noticed that although his friend still had all of his adult memories and intellect, at times Daniel acted more like his new physical age. Daniel now needed at least nine hours of sleep at night and usually a brief rest period (never, ever, to be called a nap) following lunch.

Daniel's emotions were closer to the surface. While he had never been a good poker player, now every emotion, every thought was reflected in his face. He laughed louder and more often. He smiled more. And he cried more. Usually at home or in the bathroom on base.

And Daniel had become much more tactile. As an adult, Daniel Jackson had been physically very self contained. He had mastered the art of the self-hug and would rarely touch other people in a casual manner. The new Daniel seemed to crave human touch. He would hug Carter, Janet and even Teal'c, whenever they said hello or good-bye. He would lean against Jack when standing in the elevator or sitting on the sofa. Jack never commented on this new tendency for snuggling. He just responded in kind when it seemed like Daniel needed it.

Six months had passed since Daniel's return to the SGC. Jack was happy to see Daniel get used to his new job responsibilities and his new life. They still had bad days. Daniel tended to forget the limitations of his size and age. Jack sometimes forgot which Daniel he with whom he was dealing; Daniel the five year old needed to limit his caffeine and sugar intake; Daniel the adult needed to feel independent and in control of his life. Whenever Jack neglected either side of Daniel, he regretted it immediately. Daniel the child became whiney and difficult. Daniel the adult moody and frustrated. Both Daniels could ruin a perfectly good day.

So, in the interest of appeasing the need for child-Daniel to take a break from the SGC and adult-Daniel to indulge his thirst for knowledge, Jack had arranged for them both to attend a lecture being held in NYC, at the New York Museum. When Daniel first told Jack about the lecture, Jack was very reluctant to go. Taking a child-version of Daniel to the museum where he had watched his parents die 30 years earlier seemed like a very bad idea. However, Daniel pointed out that he had been to the museum several times since his parents' deaths. In fact, one summer he had done an internship with the head of Egyptian studies at the museum. And Daniel really, really wanted to hear this lecture.

The featured speaker was Dr. Radcliffe Emerson of Great Britain. From what Daniel had told Jack, Emerson and his wife were considered the most eccentric archeologists in the world. Emerson had published theories that contradicted much of what the mainstream academic world accepted as truth. He was famous for his bad temper and foul language, and had been banned from several dig-sites in Egypt, as well as having been banned for life from the British Museum. Daniel thought Emerson was brilliant. Jack thought Emerson sounded like a jerk.

* * *

The dark haired kid studied Jack for a moment before replying, "My name is Walter Peabody Emerson. But you may call me Ramses."

Daniel finally looked up from his favorite display.

"You're the son of Radcliffe Emerson and the nephew of Walter Emerson. Wow! I've followed both of their work for years. I read on on the internet that you've been going with your parents on their annual digs for the past few years. You are so lucky to have the opportunity to explore Egypt. It's a wonderful country. I loved it when..." Daniel cut off his rambling when Jack laid a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Daniel is very bright for his age. He's been fascinated with Ancient Egypt for most of his life and he took a trip there with his parents a couple of years ago," explained Jack.

Ramses nodded thoughtfully and asked, "So what is your favorite section of my father's book on Ancient Egypt?"

Daniel snorted, "It hasn't been published yet. Every year, it is scheduled for release, but never manages to get printed. But I did enjoy his recent article on the practice of hiding the mummies of royalty in common tombs, to reduce the risk of tomb robbing. It implies that a few of the mummies currently displayed in both the New York Museum and the British Museum may be of less glamourous lineage than the museums would have the casual tourist believe."

"I'm impressed. I asked a professor from Harvard University that question yesterday afternoon and he tried to bluff me. So how does an American school-boy with a military father figure know so much about a British archeologist?" inquired Ramses.

* * *

Jack and Daniel were staying in New York for one week. Heated negotiations had led to a schedule that included three lectures at the museum, one production of the Lion King, one Knicks game, a day for exploring the city and a day at the Bronx Zoo. Daniel had wanted to enroll in an intensive class being held at Columbia University on the cultural impact of the internet. Jack had only wanted to attend one lecture and spend the rest of the week being tourists. Janet Frasier and Teal'c had been the final arbiters of what would be best for both of them.

For the weeks leading up to the big trip, Daniel had been chattering non-stop about the all great and wise Radcliffe Emerson. Genius intelligence. Superior strength. Daring adventures. Emerson seemed almost mythic in his perfection. Jack was beginning to wonder if the guy was a Goa'uld, like Seth. Surely no one could be that cool and still be a regular human being.

Daniel blinked and glanced at Jack for help. He knew that he had goofed by talking so much. But he hadn't been able to chat with anyone who was interested in his favorite archeologist in a very long time. Jack tried to pay attention, but he just didn't get it. Radcliffe Emerson was the archeologist that Daniel had always wanted to be. Not that he regretted his part in the SGC. Daniel would never give up his life or change any of the choices that had led him to the greatest job ever. But, sometimes, he wondered what life would be like if he hadn't gotten into that limo with Catherine. What life would be like as a publishing archeologist who could share his findings.

The cover story that Jack had developed made Daniel's alternate life seem very sad. He really hoped that no reality would have let him lose his dreams to that extent. If he couldn't be a member of the SGC, Daniel really wanted to be like Radcliffe Emerson. Brave enough to argue with popular theory. Smart enough to prove his thesis. Strong enough to balance both work and family.

* * *

Jack began to answer for him, "Well, Daniel's father was an archeologist. Since he's moved in with me, I've encouraged his interest in the subject. And frankly, your father's adventures are pretty amazing to a kid Daniel's age."

Ramses replied," Yes, I know that my family's penchant for adventure may appeal to..."

He broke off his reply when a short, dark haired woman marched into the room.

"Walter Peabody Emerson! Are you aware of the time? Your father's lecture is due to start in 45 minutes. And we haven't eaten lunch yet, because we've been searching the museum for you for the past hour!" chastised the woman.

Jack smiled, "Mrs. Emerson, I presume? I'm Jack O'Neill and this is Daniel. Young Walter has been chatting with us. Daniel and I are attending Dr. Emerson's lecture and we were very excited to meet his son. I'm sorry if we kept him from his lunch."

The woman turned to study Jack with penetrating dark gray eyes for a long moment, before turning her attention to Daniel. When Daniel gave her his most angelic smile, she softened her expression a bit.

"I am Amelia Peabody Emerson. Please don't worry about Ramses. He's always late for lunch and he always manages to find some poor soul to lecture to. One day he'll be presenting here under his own tile, just like his father, but now I think he lurks in quiet corners, looking for someone to listen to his theories. Which are frequently both more accurate and more interesting than conventional academia... however, that is neither here nor there. Right now, we need to find my husband and get him calmed down or the whole audience will run in terror."

"I understand completely. Children can be such a blessing, but sometimes the brighter they are, the more trouble they attract," commiserated Jack.

"Indeed. Perhaps we'll meet again after the lecture."

"I hope so. Well, Daniel and I better go find seats in the lecture hall. It was nice meeting you."

Jack hustled Daniel out of the room as quickly as possible.

"Why? Why me? Why do I have to be stuck in a museum, with mini-archeologist and then meet the scariest kid ever born?" moaned Jack.

"I thought he seemed smart," said Daniel.

"Well, duh, too smart. And you talked way too much. He smelled a rat. And I think his mother suspects something too."

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Come on Jack... what could they suspect. Obviously she's used to, shall we say unusually bright children. And I didn't really say anything that bad..."

"Not anything that bad... yeah, right. We'll see. I just know that kid going to be trouble."

Finis?

Stargate, SG-1, and all the characters don't belong to me... I just like to taking them out to play occasionally. No money will be gained from this. It's just for fan entertainment purposes. For this story I have also borrowed Elizabeth Peter's characters Amelia Peabody Emerson, Radcliffe Emerson and Ramses. They don't belong to me, but I had fun playing with them.


End file.
